Do you want the good news or the bad news first? We’ll go with the good news; it seems that a brand spanking new Oddworld game is in the works and has been for some time now. For those of you who never got a chance to play the original title, or any of its many sequels, the series originated as a 2D platformer on the PS1 and spawned a sequel on that console as well. Various other incarnations have appeared over the years with the latest being Stranger’s Wrath on the Xbox. The series has alway
Parlando in un’università canadese il co-fondatore di Maxis, Jeff Brown, ha svelato i lavori attualmente in corso sul prossimo capitolo della serie Oddworld. Al lavoro sulla prossima incarnazione del platform, nuovamente gli Oddworld Inhabitants, creatori del primo titolo della serie, dei quali Brown ha dichiarato di fidarsi ciecamente. La notizia negativa è rappresentata dall’affermazione dello stesso Brow, secondo il quale il gioco potrebbe richiedere addirittura ancora qualche anno di s
Oddworld is a comprehensive fictional universe presented in video game form, created by game developers Oddworld Inhabitants under the direction of Lorne Lanning. Throughout games set in the Oddworld universe, Oddworld's peaceful nature is in danger of being consumed by the industrial ambition of sadistic corporations. Oddworld, as a planet, is measured as ten times the size of Earth, a fraction of which has been featured in the games. The main continent of interest is Mudos, on which all the stories and struggles have so far taken place.
Games in the series
The developers have stated that the Oddworld series will be a quintology, and that Abe's Exoddus, Stranger's Wrath, and the Oddworld Adventures games were bonus titles not counting toward the total of five. The Quintology was cancelled after the first two games, when the company decided to redirect their efforts towards film production. There were also a few titles that were hinted at in interviews and press releases, but were never developed.
Released titles
Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee. First quintology game. Released for PlayStation and Microsoft Windows in 1997.
Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus. Bonus quintology game and a sequel to Abe's Oddysee. Released for PlayStation and Microsoft Windows in 1998.
Oddworld Adventures. Handheld version of Abe's Oddysee. Released for Game Boy in 1998.
Oddworld Adventures 2. Handheld version of Abe's Exoddus. Released for Game Boy Color in 1999.
Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee. Second quintology game. Released for Xbox in 2001.
Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee. Handheld version of the 2001 game. Released for Game Boy Advance in 2003.
Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath. The most recent Oddworld game. Released for Xbox in 2005.
Unreleased titles
"SligStorm". It would have followed the story of an albino Slig, born in a complex it must escape to avoid infanticide, fan games have been made, but the quality does not meet the quality of Oddworld.
"Oddworld": "Munch's Exoddus". Expected to be a bonus game based on Munch's Oddysee.
"Oddworld": "Squeek's Oddysee". Expected third game in Quintology.
"Oddworld": "Nod's Oddysee". Speculated to be the fourth game in Quintology.
"Oddworld": "The Hand of Odd". A real-time strategy game.
"The Brutal Ballad of Fangus Klot". Mature-rated game aimed at attracting a more mainstream audience.
Future game
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A future game has recently been confirmed by Maxis co-founder Jeff Braun. Speaking at Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada, Braun said of the team, "They're such a talented group of people and I really trust their ability to create compelling content." He said that the upcoming game will have a cinematic quality on a "one to one scale" with CGI-based films. He also noted however, that a slow production schedule could make it "years" before the game sees release.
Gamespeak
In the Oddworld games, the Gamespeak feature allows the player to communicate with the various in-game characters. An example of a Gamespeak command is the now-famous "Hello. Follow me", of the original game, Abe's Oddysee, and "Wait", which instructs a nearby character to stay there. Rescuing Mudokons, Fuzzles, and opening certain doors are all achieved through Gamespeak. Enemies mind-controlled by Abe can also use Gamespeak, as one can use Glukkons to order subservient Sligs around, or use Sligs to call their Slog pets to heel.
Certain Gamespeak commands aren't much more than burps or farts, which serve mainly to provoke comical reactions from nearby characters. In Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee, whenever Abe farts near nearby Mudokons, they laugh, some say: "Hey look at that". When Abe farts or Munch burps near each other, they say stuff like: "That's nasty", "Dude, what's up with that"?, etc.
The Gamespeak feature was modified in Stranger's Wrath, with a single "talk" button causing the Stranger to say something appropriate to the situation. For instance, when the Stranger needs to cash in a bounty on an Outlaw, pressing the "talk" button will cause him to say, "Best be gettin' to the bounty store." This context-sensitive Gamespeak also worked for questioning the Clakker and Grubb townsfolk.
"Oddworld: Hand of Odd"
Oddworld: Hand of Odd was rumored to be the fifth Oddworld game. It was to be a real-time strategy game and playable online. Originally announced in 1999, Hand of Odd was cancelled when Oddworld Inhabitants shut down in April 2005 to pursue the creation of motion pictures.
"The Brutal Ballad of Fangus Klot"
An April 2005 issue of Game Informer revealed a character named Fangus, a type of shepherd on Oddworld located in a region called Fangustan, watching over a flock of particularly demonic-looking sheep. While OWI did not confirm the game (many suspected it as an April Fool's joke), the article briefly outlined the plot: Fangus is a shepherd who dutifully wards off predators, until one day, invaders arrive. Fangus is then forced to rise to the occasion, assuming the role of savior of all Oddworldian nations. Meanwhile, rabies slowly begins to turn him mad, and he must make haste in thwarting the invaders' plans before his mind is completely lost. A Mature rating (by the ESRB) was expected due to dark tones and themes throughout the game, and Majesco was expected to publish the game for the Xbox.
Citizen Siege
Plans to release a feature film and integrated video games entitled Citizen Siege have been announced. The story "takes place on near-future Earth, and it's highly relevant to current global social-political circumstances."
References
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^ Jeff Braun helping out on Oddworld game
^ Maxis Co-Founder Reveals Oddworld Return
External links
Official Website
Official Website of Michael Bross - The music composer for the games Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee and Oddworld Stranger's Wrath
